TEHRAN (Agencies)
Iranians voted Friday in the second round of elections expected to confirm conservative domination of the next parliament, which could prove a handful for controversial President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Conservatives won a majority of seats in the 290-member parliament in the first round of the election in March, but in a number of places no candidates secured enough votes to win -- hence the run-off. Iranians cast their votes Friday to elect 82 lawmakers out of 164 candidates in 100 cities, including the capital Tehran.
Moderate opponents of Ahmadinejad said the vote was unfair because the unelected Guardian Council, which screens candidates on their commitment to Islam and Iran's clerical system, barred many of them from running in March.
Ahmadinejad has infuriated many more moderate conservatives with his expansionary economic policies -- which economists blame for Iran's high inflation -- and his increasingly virulent attacks on opponents.
"The eighth parliament (since the 1979 Islamic revolution) will not be an opposition parliament but it will be a critical parliament," conservative analyst Amir Mohebian told AFP.
Ahmadinejad faces a re-election battle in the summer of 2009 against a background of discontent over high inflation, and his toughest competition is expected to come from more moderate fellow conservatives.
Reformists, who secured more than 30 seats in the first round, have called for a high turn out because it would give the opposition a bigger voice. The new parliament will begin work in May.
Parliament does not determine policy in areas such as Iran's disputed nuclear program, oil or foreign affairs. It does, however, have an influence on economic policy.
The country's most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged Iranians to vote.
"This round is as important as the previous round ... God willing our dear nation ... will vote and a good assembly will be formed," Khamenei said in a live television broadcast, voting shortly after polls opened at 8 a.m. (0330 GMT).
Polling stations are due to close at 6 p.m. (1330 GMT), although this has been extended in past elections. |
